Lasker Rink in Central Park Is to Reopen on Thanksgiving

Lasker Rink in Central Park, a popular skating and hockey site that was expected to be closed for most of the winter, will reopen on Thanksgiving after undergoing extensive repairs.

The rink, in northern Central Park, closed abruptly this month after leaking valves were discovered. Several hockey clubs that use the rink for practices and games suddenly had to look for alternatives.

But after saying that the rink might be closed for much of the winter, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced last week that the valves appeared to have been successfully repaired. On Wednesday, parks officials said that the rink would reopen for public skating on Thursday and that hockey teams could resume play on Monday.

“We are thrilled to welcome back Lasker Rink for this winter season,” said Mitchell J. Silver, the parks commissioner. “The rink is a beloved neighborhood destination during the winter months.”

Lasker, which has two rinks, is operated by the Trump Organization, which also has a license agreement to run Wollman Rink in the southeast corner of Central Park.

But the parks department was responsible for fixing the leaks that had damaged the concrete slab beneath Lasker’s rinks. “The success of these efforts allowed the refrigeration system to once again start making ice,” the department said in a statement.

One of the hockey clubs that uses Lasker, the New York Ice Cats, not only faced the inconvenience of dividing its games and practices between several other rinks, including one in Westchester County. It also had started to lose players.

“There are a lot of families who join our program because it’s convenient for them, and a lot of them dropped out,” said Bob Weyersberg, who coaches the Mites, a coed Ice Cats team for 7- and 8-year-olds. “With Lasker’s reopening, many are rejoining. We’re all ecstatic. It saves the season for us.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A28 of the New York edition with the headline: An Ice Rink in Central Park Is Set to Reopen Today. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe